Matt Albers in 28 innings is 2-0 with 1.93 ERA. Troy Patton in 31.1 innings is 1-0 with 3.45 ERA. I wouldn't mind haven't trusty relievers in our pen. Too bad we traded away those pieces. I remember Carlos Guillen and Freddy Garcia that slipped away from us years ago. Those two turned out solid mlb careers.
Although Albers is pitching well this year, the previous 5 years were (for the most part) mediocre at best.
Stay tuned... The comment below the story says Dad wants some more. Yeah, uh... Mr. Ruiz, you're not really the one signing the contract.
With all due respect Rudy Ruiz, you're a clown who named your son Rio. Let the kid chase his dream. Virant and Hinojosa are quite the plan B if you're dumb enough to pass on an offer of nearly $2MM.
You gotta love Correa's attitude when you start comparing it to these guys quibbling over a couple 100k's or so. The guy gives up almost 3 million dollars while keeping it in perspective that the big paydays are down the road. He knew it meant more for him and his country to be drafted #1....not to mention the confidence you have to have to say. I'll get my payday soon enough.... Now if Ruiz' decision is boiling down to him legitimately wanting to experience college...then more power to him. He and his family have that right....but you better not get too greedy. There are an untold amount of stories of guys disappearing over the 3 years in college for various reasons....so you better make sure it's the experience you are really contemplating/after.
Albers was a guy that had an ERA around 6 as a rookie, and Patton was damaged goods (both had lost value in 2007). At the time, I think Patton was the guy most people were disappointed in losing, but I think perhaps the organization had concerns about his health.
Yep -- Astros drafted Chase Davidson out of high school in the 3rd round. He decided not to sign. The Astros drafted him again 3 years later --- in the 41st round. I hope we get Ruiz, but Virant and/or Hinojosa wouldn't be a bad consolation.
Oy. Just the thought of those late 90's teams with Abreu and then the early 00's with Santana. Oh, what could have been.
With the bonus system, I definitely think they would be making a big mistake turning down offers that approach $1M. College is fun, but it's not worth risking that kind of cash. It is a huge risk. I think we end up with Ruiz & Virant.
I have still never heard of a good explanation for them leaving Abreu unprotected in the expansion draft. The company line was they had to choose between him and Hidalgo. Why did they have to choose between those two?
I really wish Drayton would have opened the checkbook for Randy ala Beltran and Lee. He would have played out his career anchoring a staff with Lima, Hampton, Reynolds, Oswalt, Miller, Redding, Clemens, Pettitte and Backe.
Each team could only protect 15 players in the 1st round. 15 in the ENTIRE organization. Forget 40 man, forget 1st 3 years in the minors...15 total. That's pretty insane. You have to protect your franchise players, you have to protect your solid SP's that make up the core of your rotation, you have to protect your young MLers as much as possible, and you have to protect the prospects that your organization thinks are going to be the best. Granted, they may have made some poor choices in whom they chose to protect (surely some prospects that never panned out). But I can't fault them for protecting their best prospects. This is the best list I could find in a quick search--unknown level of accuracy Some of the recognizable unprotected guys: Magnante, Manny Barrios and Jose Cabrera (decent young arms at the time), John Halama (solid prospect at the time), Russ Johnson (3 years off being a 1st rounder)...and Abreu The funnier part is that the Rays traded Abreu for Kevin Stocker immediately..
Drayton offered Randy a 3 year deal for $33 mil. He did a decent job of opening the checkbook for a 33 year old Randy. Granted, Randy ended up with 4 years and 53 mil. But it sounds like Drayton was willing to go up in avg salary...they didn't want to guarantee the 4th year. I don't think DRayton was being overly stingy given the back troubles in the past and his age. Obviously it worked out making the contract look great, even for 1999
